Winter Storm Warning… in Hawaii?

Parts of Hawaii's Big Island are even looking at 20 to 30 inches of snow over the next couple of days. How is it possible? Well, this phenomenon isn't that uncommon and here's why:

Hawaii has huge mountains! The tallest mountain in Hawaii, Mauna Kea, is 13,808 feet above sea level. If we placed this in Washington, it would be the 2nd tallest mountain in the state (between Mount Rainier, which is 14,411ft and Mount Adams, which is 12,281ft).

So, in the winter when snow levels drop down to 8,000ft, while it may be paradise on the shore, there's a possibility for a blizzard (the last Blizzard Warning for Hawaii was issued last year).

Hawaii Weather Alerts.Source: NWS Honolulu

This weekend a major storm system is moving across Hawaii which is expected to bring heavy rainfall to places like Honolulu. Highs there, though, will be in the low 80s. That's a far cry from the heavy snowfall that's expected on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

There are other places in the tropics that get snow. Officially speaking, the tropics are the parts of the earth between the latitudes of 23.43° South and 23.43° North. This includes the mountains outside of Mexico City (19° North), portions of Peru, and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (3° South). Kilimanjaro even has a glacier at its peak.